Ratatouille
75 min · 4 g protein · 145 cals / serving
Provence in a pot: eggplant, zucchini and sweet peppers roasted hot until their edges caramelise, then simmered with garlic, onion, ripe tomatoes and thyme into a soft, glossy stew where every vegetable still tastes of itself. Finished with torn basil and a thread of olive oil. Serve it warm beside grilled fish or chicken, or cold the next day with an egg on top.
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) cubes
- 2 medium zucchini, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) chunks
- 1 large red bell pepper, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin, divided
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 1/2 lb tomato, ripe, chopped (or a 28 oz / 800 g can of whole tomatoes, crushed)
- 1 tsp dried thyme, or herbes de Provence
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 handful fresh basil, torn
Steps
- Heat the oven to 450°F. Toss the eggplant, zucchini and peppers with 1 tablespoon of the oil and half the salt, spread over two lined baking sheets and roast 25 minutes, turning once, until browned at the edges and soft.
- Meanwhile, warm the rest of the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and cook the onion 8 minutes until soft and golden. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, thyme, pepper and the remaining salt, plus a bay leaf if you have one. Simmer, stirring now and then, 15 minutes, until thick and jammy.
- Fold the roasted vegetables into the sauce and simmer gently 10 minutes so the flavours marry. Take off the heat, stir in the basil, taste for salt and serve warm or at room temperature.
Good to know
Why roast the vegetables separately?
It is the shortcut to the traditional method of frying each vegetable on its own: they brown instead of stewing, so the eggplant turns creamy and the zucchini keeps its shape, with far less oil than frying.
How do I make it a main?
Stir in a drained can of white beans in step 4, or serve it with grilled fish, chicken or a fried egg and some crusty bread.
Does it keep?
It is famously better the next day. Keep it 4 days in the fridge or freeze it in portions.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 54
- Protein
- (11%)
- 1 g
- Fat
- (37%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (52%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 5 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 149 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 868 kcal goes into the pot and 2419 g of ingredients comes out as about 1600 g of food: 54 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.